1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective wear for the paws of canines to protect them from hot pavement, blacktop, sidewalks, and streets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the summer, seeing-eye dogs, service dogs, working dogs and other canines suffer from the heat, in the form of hot pavement which burns the pads of their feet. Intense discomfort and even burning, cracking, and infection of the paws may result unless suitable protection is provided. No prior art has addressed specifically the problem of heat on animals' feet.
On the market are mittens for canines made of canvas or latex (Marshall). The disadvantage of these mittens is that the single layer of canvas or latex does not protect the paws from burning on hot pavement. Also, the mittens are secured to the dog's leg or paw with a strip of self-adhesive material at the open top of the mittens (Marshall). There is no guide loop to support the opposite end of the strap to prevent the self-adhesive strip from slipping up in the back and allowing the backside of the mittens to hang open and subsequently slip off the dog's foot. In practice, the mittens do not stay securely in place for any length of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,333 discloses protective footwear for canines which are held in place by a suspender system, which works well with small dogs, but does not function well on large breed dogs, i.e., the type of dogs used as seeing-eye dogs and service dogs. Furthermore, the suspender system becomes entangled in or impedes the function of a working dog's given attire e.g., backpack, pulling harness, or guide harness.